Learner Centred

NCEA Success

Everything we do at Woodford House is focused around ongoing learning and personal excellence. In 2016, we gained our highest number of excellence endorsements ever, and nine national scholarships were awarded for academic excellence.

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) scholarships provide recognition and monetary reward to top students who are assessed against challenging standards, which are demanding for the most able candidates in each course. In 2016 Woodford House gained NZQA scholarships for Accounting, Chemistry, Drama, French, History, Painting, Photography and Physical Education.

Scholarship candidates are expected to demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalisation and to integrate, synthesise and apply knowledge, skills, understanding and ideas to complex situations.

Forward Thinking

Take a walk through our classrooms and you will see girls using digital devices, coding websites, thinking critically and connecting globally. We are living in one of the most innovative decades ever and we, as educators, need to prepare girls for a future that is largely unknown but extremely exciting.

Our teachers are responsive to transformative learning, which includes project and inquiry-based experiences, e-portfolios, computer coding, flexi-learning, and interdisciplinary challenges and opportunities.

We pride ourselves on providing an environment where innovation, creativity and collaboration thrive and equip girls with the ability to lead the way confidently.

Personalised Learning

Our commitment to personalised learning, where the girl is at the centre, has resulted in Woodford House becoming one of the leading schools in New Zealand.*

We recognise that one size does not fit all in education. Every girl is a unique individual with different strengths, challenges and interests. Our highly regarded learning programmes are developed in partnership with teachers, students and their caregivers to allow each student the opportunity to achieve her personal best.

Our girls experience a range of learning opportunities that build a strong holistic foundation of skills in their junior years, which they can specialise in during their seniors years.

Student Leadership

Servant and authentic leadership is a mind-set that helps develop the necessary skills required to lead fulfilling lives. We encourage all girls to step outside of their comfort zone and participate in leadership roles, both in class and during co-curricular experiences.

Leadership comes in many different forms depending on the Year Level, but confidence, empathy and positive role modelling are common characteristics and qualities seen among our student leaders.

Official leadership roles are established in Year 13 with a selected Prefect Team, led by the Head Girl.

Course Selection

Woodford House delivers the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) curriculum, which is well-recognised and highly regarded by employers worldwide. Girls are given the opportunity to explore different courses to help them discover their passions and strengths. Learning includes project and inquiry-based experiences, flipped classrooms, computer coding, flexi-learning, and cross-curricular interdisciplinary challenges and opportunities.

Vocational Pathways

Pathways is an individualised learning programme that helps students develop specific or transferable skills or career paths. It is an excellent option for students wishing to explore future study and career possibilities.

There are a wide variety of topics students can study through self-directed learning, but with teacher support. Topics range from tourism, early childhood and aged care, nursing and health science, finance and business management, and landscaping and agriculture.

Students who have a passion for a particular area of study are provided with the opportunity to gain relevant practical experience at Eastern Institute Technology (EIT) Trades Academy courses, or on a work placement.

Employment and education are an ever-changing landscape for our students, more so than for previous generations. The earlier the girls become aware of their skill set and particular interests, the easier it will be for them to make good decisions about their learning and career journeys. With Pathways, the girls are fortunate to have the opportunity to begin this journey in a supported learning environment.

The teachers at Woodford House really believed in me and, because of this, I feel I can achieve more now than ever before.